Too fast, too furious: Cedar Rapids Prairie’s strong start too much for Cedar Rapids Jefferson

CEDAR RAPIDS – David Fason was everywhere. He did a little of everything for Cedar Rapids Prairie.

He was a force on offense, defense and special teams, contributing to a fast and furious start that would have impressed Vin Diesel.

Fason scored three touchdowns, added to his Class 5A best tackles for loss total, an interception and even partially blocked a punt that set up a short field during a 28-point first quarter in Prairie’s 49-21 victory over Cedar Rapids Jefferson in a 5A District 5 high school football game Thursday night at Kingston Stadium.

”David's a special player,” Prairie Coach Kyle Knock said. “I said it before this season, I thought he was the most talented kid. He was the team MVP for us. He's going to be the MVP going forward because of what he does in all facets of the game.”

Fason caught TD passes of 1 and 47 yards and rushed for a 4-yard score. He finished with 73 total yards. His short catch and the 4-yard run came in a 4-minute stretch that capped the opening quarter outburst.

“I haven’t been able to get him the ball much the first few weeks because everyone doubles him in passing,” Knock said. “Tonight, I said we're going to put him in the backfield and hand the rock to him a little bit.

“My son, who's 10, asked me on Tuesday at dinner, ‘Why don't you play David at running back?’ I said, ‘We're going to this week.’ He asked why'd you wait until now? We’ve just got to get him the ball and let him do his thing.”

Fason, who committed to play for University of Iowa as a preferred walk-on for now, is a tight end and defensive end. He is versatile to fill other roles and embraced the change.

“It’s fun,” said Fason, who helped the Hawks hold Jefferson to 213 offensive yards. “It’s good. It pushes me to be a better player, a better individual.”

Fason demonstrated his power on the 47-yard TD reception in the second quarter for a 42-7 halftime lead. He ran through multiple tacklers and then stiff-armed one last defender to break free.

“I know I have a target on my b ack after last season,” Fason said. “When I get my chance, I’ve got to do what I’ve got to do.”

The Hawks (3-2, 1-0) emphasized the importance of a fast start. They struggled early in the last two games, leading Knock to script the first few plays. The move worked, producing three touchdowns in Prairie’s first six offensive plays. The Hawks needed 10 offensive snaps for a 28-0 advantage in 9:05.

“It’s all about getting out fast,” Fason said. “The last couple of weeks we took some (losses) and we didn’t come out of the gate fast enough. When we get our offense going, that brings our defense with us. We’re a great team when we play like that.”

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Running back Dawson Kahl provided the initial spark. On the second play from scrimmage, he bolted for a 66-yard TD run.

“I have to give credit to my (offensive) line for that one,” Kahl said. “It was a wide-open hole all the way. I made maybe one cut and I was off from there.”

Kahl added his second of three TD runs on the next series. Fason got a hand on a punt, causing it to go just 12 yards. The Hawks returned it to Jefferson’s 29. Three plays later, Kahl ran off right tackle and scored untouched from the 2 for his second TD and a 14-0 just 3:47 into the game.

Kahl added another 2-yard TD run in the second quarter. He finished with 154 rushing yards and one catch for 16 yards. Prairie amassed 286 yards on the ground.

“He's a kid that when you get him to the second level is where he kind of excels,” Knock said. “He's got enough speed to run away from somebody. He's got enough physicality to finish a run in the second level.

“He's a really talented kid and we're going to hang our hat on him going forward.”

Jefferson (1-4, 0-1) found the end zone on its fourth drive. Lucas Ranard hauled in a 16-yard TD pass from Vernon Benda in the final minute of the first quarter.

The J-Hawks scored twice in the fourth. Kayden James returned an interception 54 yards for a score and Derek Robinson hit Samuel Williams for a 17-yard TD with 3:20 remaining.

Prairie managed a decisive victory it desperately needed after losing the previous two weeks. The Hawks dominated from the start and received a boost into next week’s home game against Dubuque Hempstead.

“We talked all week about getting a blowout win to get our confidence back after our two losses,” Kahl said. “Everyone was executing. I think we definitely needed a good win like that to get rolling again.”

Jefferson travels to Dubuque Senior in Week 6.

C.R. PRAIRIE 49

C.R. JEFFERSON 21

AT KINGSTON STADIUM

CRP CRJ

First Downs 14 8

Rushes-yards 28-286 19-11

Passing yards 202 202

Comp-att-int 8-10-2 15-28-1

Total yards 488 213

Fumbles-lost 1-0 2-0

Punts-avg. 0-0.0 6-27.0

Penalties-yards 7-60 6-34

C.R. Prairie 28 14 7 0 -- 49

C.R. Jefferson 7 0 0 14 -- 21

CRP – Dawson Kahl 66 run (Junior Boxa kick)

CRP – Kahl 2 run (Boxa kick)

CRP – David Fason 1 pass from Cael Kongshaug (Boxa kick)

CRP – Fason 0 run (Boxa kick)

CRJ – Lucas Ranard 16 pass from Vernon Benda (Tyler Bartlett kick)

CRP – Kahl 3 run (Boxa kick)

CRP – Fason 47 pass from Kongshaug (Boxa kick)

CRP – Bjay Bush 1 run (Boxa kick)

CRJ – Kayden James 54 interception return

CRJ – Samuel Williams 17 pass from Derek Robinson (Bartlett kick)

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING – C.R. Prairie: Kahl 10-154, Bush 7-49, Trey Reynolds 5-37, Fason 3-25, Drew Bennis 1-11, Conner Bistricky 1-8, Team 1-2. C.R. Jefferson: Uweza Kalolero 12-48, Robinson 1-0, Benda 5-(minus 18), Team 1-(minus 19).

PASSING – C.R. Prairie: Kongshaug 8-9-1-202, Owen Marxen 0-1-1-0. C.R. Jefferson: Benda 12-24-1-145, Robinson 3-4-0-57.

RECEIVING – C.R. Prairie: Max Patterson 1-73, Fason 2-48, KeAndre Bush 2-33, Max Schwieger 1-29, Kahl 1-16, Bennis 1-3. C.R. Jefferson: Jermaine Robinson 4-93, Williams 3-39, Ranard 2-27, Kalolero 2-13, Zayd Igram 1-13, Osten Robertson 2-12, L.J. Nyenow Jr. 1-5.

Comments: kj.pilcher@thegazette.com